We had a baby, it's a girl.

For all the women out there who like detail. And I guess there might be a couple guys who are interested.

THE BIRTH STORY of Virginia Badger

Well, Monday night I got super antsy and made Eric do a lot of heavy lifting to rearrange our room to fit a baby. My due date was still nearly 4 weeks away but I felt a sudden urgency. I sorted, threw things away, and emptied shelves so a baby's things could fit. I felt kind of ready. Sort of. Good thing, too.

Tuesday was a normal day.

Wednesday was a normal day. I had my 36 week checkup. I planned on giving my doctor my birth plan and going over some of the specifics. I knew she would do a vaginal exam, so I thought I would have a good idea of whether I could go on the RS temple trip on Friday (umm, yeah right). Noah slept in really late, so I lay in bed for quite a while and then took my time getting ready, actually putting on makeup and such. It was a nice, lazy morning. I did not notice anything strange about the contractions I was having; they weren't any more intense than they had been, and I was getting myself and a toddler ready, not timing what I figured were more Braxton Hicks contractions, which I had been experiencing since the beginning of my second trimester.

Eric decided to stick around for the appointment (he watches Noah when I go to the doctor because his office is in the same building), so he and Noah were there when the doctor did her exam, eyes wide, and declared that she thought I should probably go across to the hospital and get admitted, since I was 5 cm dilated.

Oh.

I walked out of the doctor's office as the nurses and desk staff chuckled about how I was in labor and didn't realize it/didn't look like it. We got to the labor and delivery floor and the nurses and desk staff chuckled about how I was in labor and didn't realize it/didn't look like it. They hooked me up to monitors and yes, I was in fact in labor. My contractions were 2 to 6 minutes apart and it looked like I would have a baby that day. A friend came and picked Noah up and Eric and I settled in.

My doctor had ruptured my water sack when I had Noah, but I had a sneaking (and probably very accurate) suspicion that he'd done it just to speed things along. I'd had a successful unmedicated birth, but I felt like I hadn't gotten the chance to see how my body would handle the whole process left to its own devices. Like I told my attending nurse, I plan on having more children, so I want to know what to expect from my body. So I was very determined to stick to my guns. I already knew I could do it unmedicated, so I wasn't worried about that.

I hadn't progressed much after a couple hours, and my doctor made it clear that she would like to break my water. I made it clear that I would prefer not to. She said she'd ask again when she came later. I told her she could ask (I was pretty sure I knew what my answer would be). Eric and I enjoyed a lazy afternoon watching HGTV and dozing off and on. I honestly don't know why I would want to hurry things along. It was the most relaxing day I'd had in a while--Noah was off playing with friends and I got to lay around. Sweet. I honestly did not see what advantage breaking my water would provide except give me sudden, intense contractions that would wear me out (like what happened with Noah, and I was so overwhelmed when it came time to push).

A big shout-out here to my sister, Katy, who was my cheerleader and helped me stick to my guns. I spent a lot of time on the phone with her, and between her support and Eric standing firmly beside me as I made what decisions I wanted/needed to make, I was able to get my way. The following sequence of events also helped.

The nurse checked and I was more dilated, so that was good. But the doctor, she said, still wanted to break my water. She was coming back to the hospital soon and would want things to be moving along...I told her I really didn't want to. She said, ok, well, maybe you should try doing something to move things along naturally. I had already done a few things but had spent a good deal of the last hour or two on the birthing ball. She suggested I try walking a little bit. Ok, I can do that. Eric and I made it about 30 feet down the hall before I was paralyzed by the intensity of my contractions. I couldn't move. Seriously. Eric shuffled me over to a wall and hurried over to ask the nurses for a wheel chair. Somehow they lowered me onto it and took me back to the room. I got back on the birthing ball, but I knew it was go time. I told Eric to tell the nurse that this baby was coming. They got me onto the bed, sat me up, and my water burst--seriously, it popped. Poor nurses didn't know what hit them. The doctor was speeding over, but wasn't there, so they tried to help me control the pushing, which I was fine with because I knew I needed some time to stretch since I had torn pretty bad when I had Noah, but my body did not like it! The doctor came in, snapped on her gloves, and let my body do its thing. I think I maybe pushed twice before Virginia made her entrance. It was such an exhilarating moment and I can't even describe it in words. The NICU nurses were there as an "in-case" since Virginia was technically premature (by 3 days), but she was perfect. We had some skin-to-skin bonding and life was beautiful.

The end.

Oh, and the doctor got to be home before 10 p.m., so I didn't feel too bad making her wait for my body to decide it was time.

The real end.

Baby blessing and odds and ends

The day of the baby blessing. We went out to DeRidder because Eric's brother TJ was visiting, so it was a perfect chance for Eric to have two of his brothers and his dad stand in the circle with him. It was a short and sweet blessing: Virginia spit up big time right as Eric started (hence the pink outfit instead of white). She got the essentials and I think she'll still turn out all right ;)

We had a little photo shoot tonight to get some pictures in her blessing dress. She spit up right after this. Maybe she just doesn't like the dress? Haha.

Tonight we got Noah to hold Virginia for the first time. He is an awesome big brother. His shirt even says so! He LOVES this shirt and wants to wear it all the time, even to bed. We got it off him long enough to wash it last night, but then he wore it again today and wouldn't let us change it again for bed. I hope he continues to take his big brother duties seriously (especially when Virginia starts dating...).

Baby Virginia

We are officially a family of four! Virginia is a sweet baby, and we've been very lucky that Noah has welcomed her with open, although sometimes indifferent, arms :) He thinks it's funny that she squeaks, likes to pet her head, gives her kisses, and he loves to ask about Virginia eating me (nursing). Grandma Washburn is here to help ease the transition, and we're starting to know what it would be like to have live-in help. We might not let her leave!

I am having a hard time uploading pictures, but here's one I managed to get to work. Love you all!

Life 'round here

This post is mostly for myself so I can remember what antics my handsome son was up to at this time of his life. But feel free to read it and enjoy. I think he's pretty awesome.

Our *little* spiritual giant:
Will say the prayer for food, often reminding me that we need to pray whenever we sit down to eat a meal or snack together.
When he sees my Book of Mormon, he picks it up and brings it to me and asks to "hear it." (Hopefully we can train him to be a doer of the word, and not a hearer only...haha).
He loves going to church and has gotten a lot better at sitting through Sacrament Meeting.
He loves certain church songs and will request them often, such as "I Love to See the Temple" and "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man."
And lots more little things that make me happy. He is often my reminder of God's love and closeness to His children.

Random Funniness and Habits:
He LOVES Wonder Pets, which is a pretty cute little show so I don't mind indulging him once in a while. He actually prefers it to his Cars movies right now, so that's awesome bc the episodes are only 20 minutes.
Jumping is his joy. We let him pull the cushions off the couch and jump on them. He did it for a full hour the other night!
He is obsessed with going to the book store and library. He will play with the toys and things for a little while, but really he just wants me to read to him and will bring me book after book to read to him. We sometimes end up staying at the book store for a good 2 hours!
Pictures below: He loves to do whatever Mommy or Daddy is doing. He was blowing his hair the other day while I got ready, and tried really hard to persuade me to paint his toe nails after he saw me do mine (he thinks it's SO funny that my toes are pink). He likes Daddy to do his hair, loves helping Daddy take out the garbage, and "playing" video games with Daddy.



Well, I could go on and on about how much fun this little guy is and how much joy he brings to our lives, but he wants to watch the "I Am A Child of God" Mormon Message now :)

If you give a 2-yr-old a camera...

You might not get it back without a full-on frenzy of tears and kicking. But the pictures you end up with can be worth the battle :) There were LOTS more, but I didn't want to overdo it. Enjoy!